Harper says Canada becoming more conservative

[TASSOS502]

i hate harper as our prime minister. but he had a point. we came into the new millenium with a liberal majority. in 2011 we now have a conservative majority. harper had a point

[Seamstobesunny]

watch?v=zejD0UkMGGY

[kaizerzydeco]

Not more conservative, just stupider.

[Wallyrus]

The real problem, though, is the "party" system. The premise of capitalism is that competition drives innovation, encourages hard work and nourishes efficiency. This is a core idea behind democracy but, in reality, an election is merely a competition to see who is the best manipulator. Once the election is over, the PM has no incentive to do a good job for us.

The political party is an undermining sub-culture within Democracy, these politicians put their own political needs ahead of OURS.

[Wallyrus]

Canadian society is, allegedly, structured to benefit ALL tax payers. Voting for a more egalitarian political party, like the NDP, is objectively the best decision. Conservatives typically believe that having more money makes one MORE Canadian and that those who weren't born into a wealthy family deserve what they get, because being poor simply means that one is lazy.

Canadians elected, as a leader, a man who believes this because he offered them illusory, but not actual, certainty.

[ammarios]

@Wallyrus I just wanted to applaud you on what you just said. Your comment is probably the most intelligent I've seen on here in a while.

The right-wing is not "simply another point of view".. I feel the right-wing is just simply WRONG. And,, there are 2 kinds of right-wingers : those who are misguided and actually BELIEVE what they're preaching, and those, like Harper, who KNOW they're lying yet do it anyway. The so-called "left-wing" NDP are the REAL "centre".

[Wallyrus]

@v668 The conservatives realize that somebody who is scared will tend to make more conservative decisions and not think long-term. The only reason they keep getting elected is because they are really good at threatening people and making them think they are in danger. It's intellectually dishonest.

[gundamWWW]

Frankly I don't care if Canada becomes more small c conservative in some areas of life.

I just care that Stephen Harper is trying to turn Canada into the United States by supporting right wing extremist policies, and his foreign policy as well.

Now if you criticize Israel for civilian killings, you automatically are an antisemite and support Hamas. That's not fair.

That's not the Canada I or anyone want to live in.

[Wallyrus]

@gundamWWW Agreed. Harper is entirely on his own level of conservative politics, practically fascist. He takes every possible opportunity to shirk his responsibility to the voters, he marginalizes democracy every chance he gets.

I can almost picture a childhood Harper, heart broken at the realization that he can't be President of the USA when he grows up and then vowing to turn Canada into the country he secretly wishes he was born in.

[gundamWWW]

@Wallyrus

What's even worse is that Michael Ignatieff (A weak leader) is the only thing that stands between Harper and a majority government... If he loses in the next election, Canadians loose big time...

Harper won't even try to restrain himself...

[PsychedelicDragon]

@Wallyrus Is there any chance or hope that the conservatives will be kicked out of government? I hope the liberals will wipe the floor out of the conservatives in the next election, whenever that is.

[Wallyrus]

@PsychedelicDragon I'm not certain. The success of a conservative political platform depends on the ability of the politician to make the voters realize that the future is uncertain, then convince them that this fact is a scary thing. Typically this requires the glazing over of certain facts and no Canadian politician is better at this than Stephen Harper.

[Wallyrus]

With a minority government, Steven Harper has to deal with the other political parties to get anything done and, so, instead of working together to make Canada the country that people VOTED for he drags his heels until the next election -- and he's accepting a pay cheque for this? That's the same as stealing! The only one who can get away with taking money for a service promised but not performed is a bloody politician. . . If they're not an elected official we call them a "con artist".

[quebecforpresidency]

as a canadien i can say that we are not at all warming up to conservatives. i like my health care, i liked it when we were considered a peaceful nation, i son't like it that now were part of wars to feed corporate greed. no wonder we had a deficit no very fiew people want a conservative government its just that the liberal voters are split between the liberals the NDP and the green partie.

[JohnRhysMusician]

@tkmmark The United States' policy with regard to Latin America is unique but you must understand the issues that Latin America is posing to the United States. It is highly unstable and is directly to the south of the US. The US counts on a stable Latin America so that Latin Americans don't continue to flood into the US.

[fringelife]

Can Mr Harper explain why everytime the Conservatives get in we have a deficit? We have the largest deficit in Canadian history. Liberals had 13 years of balanced budgets. Mulroney's Conservatives handed the Liberals a deficit and huge debt. Anyone see a pattern here? Liberal = fiscally responsible. Conservative = tax and spend.

[420squeeg]

Does he always appear that blazed?? LOL

[JohnRhysMusician]

@sweiland75 The United States has never used military force without being provoked. The only war in U.S. history that is arguable is the Iraq war, where U.S. intelligence failed. On the other hand the U.S. had fought Sadam Hussein a little over a decade prior while an ally was provoked.

[JohnRhysMusician]

@sweiland75 Hahaha.Conservatives are immature and incapable....thats why the United States has two right-wing parties in its two-party system and leads the world on economic, cultural, and military fronts.

[cleanmrbroadway]

you all seem to have your heads up your asses. these politicians are all criminal cowards. not one of them tells the truth that i can see. You all clammering for liberal or conservative attention while your country is infiltrated by puppets of the banking families whos religion is satanic . KEEP your heads where they are you dont want to know the truth.

[cleanmrbroadway]

LISTEN UP. all our politicians of note are cowards not telling you the truth. SEE Bill Abram former school teacher he will tell you the truth. We are owned by the international banking community until we stop paying them and have the guts to suffer the concequences. After you listen to BILL ABRAM , learn about the fedaeral reserve , its the same and then listen to Jordan Maxwell explain the world economics and the birth certificate and how it is used as collateral on the world markets.

[justanoldman1]

@sweiland75 Winston Churchill, stated that if you are not conservative by the time you are 40, it means you are a loser and will never amount to anything.

[bzut07]

Stay away form evil Liberals (liberals = socialist in capitalist society) big tax, more power, , wale fare, socialized health care, dependence to big government under name of good they always push their agenda thats why they evil

[oehieze]

dr evil looking motherfucker :(

[37PercentAndRising]

The Canadian public is overwhelmingly concerned about the environment...about Human Rights...about employment...about Healthcare. I think the next governing party will have to address these concerns. Our children's future depends on it. The Liberals have always supported national broadcasting -- our CBC.

[habitantcdn]

Not a word out of that man's mouth is ever the truth...

He says since he began politcs he was ''fighting about the idea of having balanced budgets''

While in Opposition, I don't think he has ever seen an unblanced surplus. While in Government, he has struggled a couple times to maintain a balanced budget and has given Canada it's greatest budget deficit ever.

[habitantcdn]

Not a word out of that man's mouth is ever the truth...

He says since he began politics, Canada has ''become'' more conservative...

Harper's first crack at politics, 1988, the PC had 43.02% of the popular vote (and the Reform 2.09%). The combined ''Conservative'' vote has never hit 40% again.

[jejeroy]

no way that conservative ruin our country that talking about the agenda its smell the bilderberg group

[zachfitzz]

by definition, a socialist country cannot become conservative. so this isnt true; its just harper trying to hold on as the half white obama takes office. its too bad there isnt a real leader out there on either side of the aisle or border.

[testmark1]

Yes, except Canada isn't a socialist country and you obviously don't know the history of conservatism in the western world.

[mackenziewscott]

True. Canada isn't a full blown socialist country. We do have a mixed communist/capitalist society. However, at least the United States are an independent nation, unlike Canada.

Independence is what will set us free.

[Aro2220]

I don't know if America is really an independant nation. It appears to me that multinational businesses and international bankers have more pull on the US government than the average American does.

[mackenziewscott]

Yeah good point. China is a big owner of American debt.

America used to be an independent nation.

[quuaa1]

The Liberals have always been communist, Pierre Trudeau was head of the communist party of Canada.

[rtsoccerplayer]

canada isn't becoming conservative. its just that the liberals have their heads in their butts.

if canada is becoming more conservative, why do the majority of canadians support barrack obama? that i'd say is a fair conclution because both mccain and obama is a fairly matched game.

as for harper vs dion...

if you get my point

[shas1814]

This government ignores the Canadian constitution,

ignores the resolutions of the Canadian Parliament,

ignores the recommendations of the Canadian Senate,

ignores the decisions of the United Nations,

ignores the expressed wishes of the Canadian people.

To whom IS this government accountable?

To George W. Bush, evidently.

And that is unacceptable.

[framewalk]

A very silly comment by shas1814.

The Conservatives have been very accountable.

- Harper reduced the GST -

He is walking the walk and doing the things that others just talk about before they proceed to break their party promises. Harper has been true to his word.

To imply that he puppets to the USA is absurd.

[shas1814]

Hey, framewalk

I can provide examples for every statement I posted.

Harper can't even follow his own rules about election dates.

And, yeah, he follows George W Bush step by step.

To deny that is, well, absurd.

[jackanapeVO]

Also, remember that Harper and the Bloc voted strategically to overtake the Liberals. Conservatives then were freshly formed from the Reform party falling out. Reform party was funded on seperatist values, as is the Bloq. Neither of these parties look out for the best interests of keeping our country united. Why are we sending jobs that could very well be done in Ontario or elsewhere being given to US companies? Those are jobs lost here that we need.

[jackanapeVO]

I wish I could find the article which stated losses of 60 billion. Unfortunately it was very under reported. I'll have to look for it.

Martin was the one who backpedelled on Chretien's plans to decriminalize. This was because of US influence. Same reason Martin caved and put us into Afghanistan.

[jackanapeVO]

Loonie lefties huh?

Are you one of the types that just reads headlines or listens to talk radio to get your news? Try digging abit deeper and you'll realize the conservative's promises are just as empty as Dion's carbon tax. We don't need a bigger government. We need one that understands getting as much bang for our buck as possible. We have a ton of money being wasted by this government, and it should be better spent, or put back into our pockets.

Harper is no conservative.

[luckybeercanman88]

i agree

[jackanapeVO]

Harper is lying. We allow gay marriage, almost decriminalized cannibus and voted not to go into Iraq. It's only his party that has been pushing US styled policy into Canadian politics. His government has wasted or lost so much money that the idea that he calls himself conservative is almost a joke.

Between the lost oil royalties and the war in Afghanistan, his government has lost somewhere probably around 40 billion dollars.

Hard to confirm since he wont release the budgets however.

[sinan32121]

Well put. And lets not forget Stevie's little referendum he forced into parliament as soon as he got power, to try to amend the change of the definition of marriage. Not only that, this bigot also, despite being conservative, somehow took Canada from having a record surplus to having our first deficit in many many years.

[liberty4canada]

jackanapeVO: actually the federal budgets are public and posted online. Canada has paid $40 billion to the national debt over the last 3 budgets, there is no 'missing money'.

Almost decriminalizing marijuana just doesn't cut it. Martin introduced the bill 3 times as a political ploy, and could have passed it many times but didn't. Paul Martin was almost a decent Prime Minister. Almost just doesn't cut it.

[liberty4canada]

Harper didn't force a referendum, he promised a free vote on same-sex marriage, and he delivered. Its the Liberal party that FORCED its MPs to vote a particular way on the issue. Its not bigotted to support a traditional definition of marriage when you also support equal treatment of civil unions under the law. Just ask the Supreme Court, or those Liberal MPs that voted for a traditional definition along with Harper.

[jackanapeVO]

I don't think anyone said it was a referendum over the issue. The point is that it was a non-issue. The only people with their panties knotted over this are the hardcore religious types who somehow can't remember not to judge people. Does it make any difference what it's called? To me, that just seems like wasted time. What's the government doing meddling with religious beliefs anyways? That's not their job.

[liberty4canada]

You and I may not care what its called but many do and not just the 'hardcore religious types' you judge. Opinion was split 50/50 in 2004 when Martin used it as a political wedge issue to hang onto power, and in the process insulted half the population by painting them as zealots and bigots. Dozens of Liberal MPs disagreed but Martin forced them to vote against their conscience. That's not democratic nor respectful of opposing viewpoints, which is why Harper held an open debate and free vote.

[jackanapeVO]

And it was that exact type of attitude that got the Liberals into the position they're in now, even unable to overthrow Harper. Dion has no charisma and his accent makes it harder to get western voters plus his green shift is a joke to westerners who remember what Trudeau did to us in the 80's.

I'm not a lib supporter if that's the reason why you keep bringing them up. They've used sneaky tricks to retain power for so long, that they deserved to be ousted. Too bad Harper is doing it now too.

[liberty4canada]

I totally agree with you about the Liberal attitude, but I disagree that Harper is doing the same thing. In fact I think he's looking for ways to unify not divide, and he's more of a policy wonk than retail politician which is good if you care about the long term. I also like how the NDP conduct themselves most of the time, Jack is obviously in it for the right reasons. But the Liberals and Bloc have had nothing but snipes and smears to offer for decades, I hope this election destroys them both.

[jackanapeVO]

Look at how the conservatives treated the Cadman scandal. They refused to go to hearings on the days they were supposed to, treating the entire thing like a joke. If the liberals were any sort of credible party, they would have jumped all over them, but they didn't. Harper recants more promises than he'd ever admit, and now he's doing exactly what westerners hated Trudeau for.

He's spending billions bribing Ont & Que for their votes while ignoring where the money comes from.

[liberty4canada]

Yes, just look at the Cadman 'scandal' - Its a a joke, there's nothing to it whatsoever. The committee hearings were a just a partisan witchhunt and an embarasment. You know the Libs got the RCMP to investigate and guess what? The Tories were cleared of any wrongdoing.

As for spending in Ont & Que, your attempt to spur regional divisions won't work because anyone who knows the numbers knows program spending is allocated to the provinces on a per capita basis, so they got nothing special.

[jackanapeVO]

Really?

I heard the audio tape where Harper states quite specifically that he was aware of the bribery attempt. Partisan witchhunt? Nonsense. I forget who it was, but he refused to do his testimony on the day he was scheduled. He showed up 2 days early making a scene and was ejected because he was being an ass. He then went to tell the media that it was a 'partisan stunt' or some such nonsense.

The fact is the cons refuse to play by fair rules.

[PrimarySource888]

No that was Doug Findlay and it was during the in-and-out kangaroo court. The opposition used their majority control of the committee to manipulate the witness list and use 'scheduling conflicts' to yank Findlay's chain. Then Findlay made a scene, and MPs from all parties joined in. The whole thing was unseemly, embarrassing - and pointless because the issue will be settled in court when the Tories win their case against Elections Canada. Its the very definition of a partisan witchhunt.

[erad24]

Wake UP.... Canadians should pay less their gas than the US, we produce enough for all canadians, we sell our crude oil for peanuts to the americans and we import oil from the middle east, what kind of country you want? A country where your boss is the conservative party and their friend from the oil industry?

Vote for who you want but dont vote conservative please.

[liberty4canada]

You say Canadians should pay less for gas but then you say don't vote Conservative. But its only the Conservatives that are reducing gas prices through tax cuts, all the other parties would raise prices. I don't get it.

And what's the connection between the Conservative Party and the oil industry? Everyone says they're in bed together, but HOW? If that were true then there must be some proof?

[RenderRankin]

You are a fool, our oil is in the form of sand, which costs far more to process than other sources, thus it is effective only as a supplement to conventional sources, or at east until the cost of oil is far higher

[erad24]

Harper you liar, the conservative dont spend less, they spend a lot more... this year the budget has a deficit again... You dont cut the taxes when you need more money to pay your debt, WTF, yesterday in montreal the price of gas jumped from 1.27 to 1.49 /L and the price of the barrel didnt raise up

The price of gas in the US jumped 1¢/L because of ike, so? we have to pay because ike hit texas? WTFFFF Taxans dont need our help they dont believe in global warming, let them see by their own eyes

[liberty4canada]

The government is NOT running a deficit, that's not true.

[SkinnyWmn69]

@liberty4canada lol, looks like you got owned. Are you enjoying our deficit? And with thumbs up...boy do those tools feel dumb...AWKWARD. 

[ericbrock]

Canadians have always been fiscally conservative...this is why the liberals have always balanced the budget.

I believe Canadians are NOT socially conservative. Harper will hide his socially conservative views throughout the campaign so that he can try to win a majority. This is why he is not a leader.

If Canadians elect Harper then we can no longer complain about the Americans electing Bush, we just elected someone worse.

[upchuck69]

You are right to a point, I don't think Canadians are outright socially conservative but as I said to MapleTreeOfKnowledge, most Canadians have a mix of right and left views.

Example, someone could support gay marriage but be pro-life.

If Harper does know this, then what he is trying to do is appeal that conservative side of Canadians while disregarding their progressive beliefs. I think Harper is very condescending to the electorate and that's why I won't vote for him.

[MapleTreeOfKnowledge]

I might say that Canada has become more conservative RECENTLY, but have we become more conservative over all? I think not. One hopes we never do. Any recent conservativeness we may have is only temporary. Every once in a while Canadians elect a Conservative government for a bit, then we put the Liberals back in power for three terms or so, that's just the way it goes. I think that works relatively well for Canada, but curse the day we can be seen as an inherently Conservative nation.

[upchuck69]

There are many forms of conservatism. There is social conservatism and fiscal conservatism to name a couple of examples. Someone can be a fiscal conservative and socially progressive (liberal) but that does not necessarily make him/her a true conservative or progressive.

Most Canadians have a mix of conservative and progressive viewpoints, which is what we call the political middle and Harper should know this. If he doesn't, then he's really out of touch with the electorate.

[MapleTreeOfKnowledge]

Oh yes. I know that. Fiscal conservatism is smart. Like the fact The Conservatives like to use the money from surpluses to pay down the national debt; that's smart. Must smarter than the Liberal's approach of spending it on social programs galore, which is the stupidest idea UI've ever heard of. Besides being against our law I believe, it makes no sense not to sink that money into the National debt. It WILL benefit Canada the more we pay that down. Rambles...